Coupler



July1,1952 R. wALsi-l ETAL 2,601,928

COUPLER Filed July 30, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I c at I E U -k P. Kennedy l5. am

ATTORNEY R. WALSH ET AL COUPLER July 1, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 30, 1948 INVENTORS R0614. U'ac ATTORNEY y 1952 R. WALSH HAL 2,601,928

COUPLER 7 Filed July 30, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS fly Robert W415 F T BY J ck l7-Karmecl ATTORNEY Patented July 1, 1952 v. 1 conrmiit Walsh and Jack D. Kennedy, Wilmington, DeL; assigndrs't'o American Gaiand Foundry (lompan'y New Yyn-ldN; Y.,' a corporation of New J ersey Application Jii'ly' 30, 1948, serialo. 41,485 Y This invention relates; to draft appliances for railway cars and consists particularly of a p ratus for coupling a two wheel trail car to a locomotive orcar having four or more-wheels.

. It has been found helpful permitting speeds of railway trains on curvesto mainta n the vertical plane througnthejine of intersection of, the wheel fiang es and treadsidirected s-lightly'toward the inner rail of the curve; by

so directing the wheels, thetendencytc climb over the head, of theouterrail when rounding a curve at high speeds'is materially reducechif not eliminated. v

To insure this desired result on a train composed of cars havingpnlytwowheels, and those mounted underitsgrear end its front end being supported by draft appliances on the preceding car, it is necessary thatsonie pcints on the longitudinal center line of the car be at all times maintained on the inner side of the trackcenter line. When such a car ,is connected to a similar preceding par by a fixed to'ngue bivotally attached to the transverse ,midpoint of the vertical plane throughthe axle of the ceding car,- the problem ts automatically solved,

because theonly points on the longitudinal centerline of the trailing car which lie in the vertical plane of the track center line, are the points of connection withfthe forward car, and the axle of the trailing cari v I i The problem becomes more complex ifit is necessary to connect the trail ear to a locomo- Ttive or car mounted on two pivoted trucks, with the truck pivot points some distance inward from the endsof the locomotive. Under such circumstances it would be clearly impracticahle to pivotally connect the trail cars fixed tongue to the locomotive, at the pivot point of the rear truck; it is rather desirable'to' connect the trail Cat by same means .176 'the rear e'rfd or the, 1060- motive; Dependent upon the distanwhioh'the rear end v6i" the io'omonve extends rearwardly the 'ie'a'r tlflltik flit "01? D'Oifil' the transverse midr Iitilllt of the ldcdfiidtivs'iear fld will always be eritheouter Side: df'the' verticalplane thidl'lg'h thefciurved track centerline. 'If the two-wheeled train car were coupled to the rear end of such a locomotive by a" fixed tongue pivotally connected :to"the transverse midpoint ofthe locomotive end, the inward direction of the car wheels would be lessened, and the tendency toward climbing over the outer railhead when rounding short radius curves at high speeds increased. 1 I Ari object of this "invention is to providea "8 Claims. 7 (Cl. 213- 3) 2 coupling device which will maintain all points on the longitudinal center line of a two-wheeled trail car on the inner side of the trackv center connection with the accompanying drawings inwhic'h: p

"Figure 1 is a side view of the coupling device; Figure 2 s a plan view or the coupling" device from the'lirie' '2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure Bis a perspective View or the ca ering device.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic View of a train to which the coupling device has been aptilied. Figures iS' a} detailed View of a part of the draft members.

Referring new name drawings, buffer team I of locomotive H l is termed With a downwardly extending projection in the form" of an inverted frustrated semi-fiyffimld. "The pur aos of the downward'eiitensiori (if buffer" team I, is to pro vide a draft connection on the locomotive at substantiall the same hei'ght'asthe underffame 78 of a low floor two-Wheeled trail car If. e

A rectangular be); shaped member 2 having pairs of veiticallysila'ced afivaraly extending ,sjisting oi two flat substantially rectangular drawhars 5 and sjver'tieaiiy ovenatpmg each other for" the greaterporuon of their lengths,

an secured together" by three. vertical bolts 1,.

Drawbars 5 are formed with a substantially semicircular forward end 51 to irovi'd' clearance flitting-their tiivotal ffidveifieht': The; dfaw'bai' -5lare pl feralttlto reeewe Hollow} S u bstantially cylindrical bearing elements 8 which include resilient means for absorbing some of drawhar .5. A horizontally slidable spring loaded eiufige'r' 13' i jr'e'tained in 1112 [1 we bottom cover falate I 4. The V-shafied' endof plunger i3" is urged rearwardly' bv' or'n'nress'ed cil'sgiring l 5 housed in the honor lug". The fiurp'o's of plunger 1; spp rsinereafterp spaced paranel cars It are formed on the unper surface of 'pins 3,0.

3 drawbars between the middle and rear bolt holes and carry pivot pins {GI on which the lower end of hanger rods [9 are mounted.

The other element 6 of draft devices 4 is formed with an arcuate forward end 49, concentric with the forward bolt 1 joining drawbars 5 and 6. A vertical V-shaped notch 50 is formed in the middle of the arcuate end of drawbar 6 to receive the end of plunger 13 when drawbars 5 and 6 are properly aligned. The rear ends 53 of drawbars 6 are of substantially semi-circular form, and are provided with openings 54 to receive cylindrical bearings 22 similar in design and function to bearings 8;

Bearings 22 are disposed between and pivotally secured to a transversely extending bar 23.

Bar 23 extends horizontally across the front of a two-wheeled trail car and is preferably a channel structure having a vertical web with its open side forward.- The bar is preferably secured to the forward end of trail car center sill 2 4. The'flanges of bar 23 are provided at their outer ends with inwardly extending lip strengthening portions 55. Bearings 22 are retained in the proper position in bar 23, by pins 25 which pass through aligned openings in the channel flanges and the central opening of bearings 22.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the pivot points in bar 23 are equidistant from the train center line, and are somewhat more widely spaced than the pivot points in arms 3. Consequently, buffer beam I, draft members 4 and channel member 23 form a horizontal quadrilateral, which, when the train is on straight track, so that buffer beam l and bar 23 are parallel, is an isosceles trapezoid, of which draft members 4 are the legs, channel member 23 the base, and buffer beam 1 the top chord. The axes of the draft devices are such that their extensions will meet point II when the following vehicle is on straight track and the draft device will shift and maintain the center line of the following vehicle on point II when on a curve. 7 Draft devices 4 are retained normal to the grammatically shown in Fig. 4, the quadrilateral axes of bearings 8, about which the draft devices ends, hanger devices l9, are similarly pivotally connected to pivoted clevises 28 which are disposed between spaced horizontal brackets 29 and 'are'pivotally connected for rotation in a horizontal plane to bracket members 29 by means of The inneredges of bracket members 29 are secured to the upper end portion of the locomotive collisionv posts; bracket members 29 are sov spaced horizontally that the pivot points of clevises28 are coaxial with the pivot points in arms3 so that the axes of the hanger devices arein vertical alignment with the axes of the draft devices.

1 The resultant structure is in effect two rigid vert cal right triangles, having the axes I l, 30 as their 3 vertical legs, draft members 4 as their horizontal legs, and diagonal hanger rods [9 as hypotenuses. The rear ends of drawbars 6 are thus rigidly retained at a constant level with respectto-the locomotive, by which the entire assembly is supported, support channel 23, and through bar 23 and center sill 24, cooperate with the trail car rear wheels to support the trail car at therproper level above the rails. The horizontal motion due to the dynamic action of the thus formed ceases to be a trapezoid, since the locomotive and car ends are no longer parallel. Since the rear end of the locomotive, and the pivot points thereon remain a fixed distance from the center of a curve of constant radius. and since all sides of the quadrilateral are of fixed length, draft devices 4 and the trail car end change their positions with respect to the track, the rear ends of draft devices 4 moving closer to the center of the curve. This causes the center of the trail car front end to move closer to the center of the curve, and consequently cause the vertical plane of thetrail car wheels to be directed slightly inwardly with respect to the curve, thereby reducing the tendency to climb over the outer rail head.

Although the coupler is of a semipermanent type, the trail car may be uncoupled from the locomotive by removing bolts"! from the draft arms; after uncoupling. drawbars 5 and diagonal tie rods l9 may be rotated about their vertical axes ll, 30 so as not to project rearwardly from the locomotive end. Similarly drawbars 6 may be rotated about bearing 22 and disposed within channel member 23 while not in use.

Coupling is readily accomplished, even though the correct distance is not obtained between locomotive and trail car, by aligning the central bolt holes of drawbars 5 and 6, and securing the central bolt in the aligned holes as shown in dotted line in Fig. 2. When the locomotive is started, draft devices 4 will be fully extended. When drawbars 5 and 6 are thus aligned, the V-shaped end of plunger I3 engages with the V-shaped notch 50 formed in the arcuate forward end of drawbar 6, thereby locking drawbars 5 and 6 in alignment. End bolts are then easily inserted in their aligned holes, and secured to complete the coupling operation.

The invention may be modified in various respects as will occur to those skilled in the art and the exclusive use of all modifications as come within the appended claims is contemplated.

Weclaim:

1, In a coupler for connecting two railway vehicles, a transverse member connected to the following vehicle, a pair of draft devices of equal length extending at angular but in opposed relation between the transverse member and the rear end of the forward vehicle, means pivotally connecting the ends of said draft devices with said transverse member and the forward vehicle, said pivotal connections being spaced a relatively greater distance apart on said transverse member than on said forward vehicle, and vertically extending means fastened to the forward vehicle for retaining said draft devices in a substantially horizontal plane. a

2. In a coupler for connecting two railway vehicles, a pair of draftdevices of equal length, each of said draft devices joining the forward end of the rear vehicle at one sideto' the-rear end of the forward vehicle at the corresponding side, pivotal connections between said draft devices and said vehicle ends, said pivotal connections being spaced a relatively greater distance apart on said rear vehicle than on said forward vehicle, and hangers pivotally attached to said draft devices at one end and to said forward vehicle superstructure at the other end for retaining said draft devices in a substantially horizontal plane.

3. In a coupler for connecting two railway vehicles, a pair of draft devices of equal length, each of said draft devices joining the forward end of the rear vehicle at one side to the rear end of the forward vehicle at the corresponding side, each of said draft devices including two aligned drawbars detachably secured together, one of said drawbars being pivotally secured to the forward vehicle, the other drawbar being pivotally secured to the rear vehicle, pivotal connections on said rear vehicle being spaced a relatively greater distance apart than on said forward vehicle, and hangers pivotally attached to said draft devices at one end and to said forward vehicle superstructure at the other end for retaining said draft devices in a substantially horizontal plane.

4. In a coupler for connecting two railway vehicles, a pair of draft devices of equal length,

each of said draft devices joining the forward end of the rear vehicle at one side to the rear end of the forward vehicle at the corresponding side, each of said draft devices including two aligned drawbars detachably secured together, one of said drawbars being pivotally secured to the forward vehicle, the other drawbar being pivotally secured to the rear vehicle, automatic means for aligning said drawbars, the pivotal connections on said rear vehicle being spaced a relatively greater distance apart than on said forward vehicle, and hangers pivotally attached to said draft devices at one end and to said forward vehicle superstructure at the other end for retaining said draft devices in a substantially horizontal plane.

5. In a coupler for connecting two railway vehicles, a pair of draft devices of equal length, each of said draft devices joining the forward end of the rear vehicle at one side to the rear end of the forward vehicle at the corresponding side, each of said draft devices including two aligned drawbars detachably secured together, one of said drawbars being pivotally secured to the forward vehicle, the other drawbar being pivotally secured to the rear vehicle, automatic means for aligning said drawbars including a spring loaded plunger on one of said drawbars and a cooperating notch in the other of said drawbars, said plunger being adapted to fit into said notch upon proper alignment of the drawbars, the pivotal connections on said rear vehicle being spaced a relatively greater distance apart than on said forward vehicle, and hangers pivotally attached to said draft device at one end and to said forward vehicle superstructure at the other end for retaining said draft devices in a substantially horizontal plane.

6. In combination with a forward rail vehicle mounted on two pivoted trucks and a rear rail vehicle mounted on two rear wheels, a coupler for connecting said rear vehicle to said forward vehicle and for supporting the forward portion of said rear vehicle, said coupler including a transversely extending member fixed to the forward end of the following vehicle, a pair of draft devices of equal length, each of said draft devices joining the transverse member to the rear end of the forward vehicle, means pivotally connecting said draft devices and said forward vehicle end and said transverse member, said draft device extending at angles intersecting at the pivotal connection of the rear truck of the forward vehicle, and means for retaining said draft devices in a substantially horizontal plane.

7. In combination with a forward rail vehicle mounted on two pivoted trucks and a rear rail vehicle mounted on two rear wheels, a coupler for connecting said forward vehicle to said rear vehicle and for supporting the forward portion of said rear vehicle, said coupler including a pair of draft devices of equal length, each of said draft devices joining the forward end of the rear vehicle at one side to the rear end of the forward vehicle at the corresponding side, pivotal connections between said draft device and said vehicle ends, said pivotal connections being spaced a relatively greater distance apart on said rear vehicle than on said forward vehicle, and hangers pivotally attached to said draft devices at one end and to said forward vehicle superstructure at the other end for retaining said draft devices in a substantially horizontal plane.

8. Coupler mechanism, for two vehicles of which the forward vehicle is mounted to swivel centrally and forwardly of its rear end on a wheel truck and the trailing vehicle is mounted on a pair of rear wheels, comprising a transversely extending member adapted to be connected to the forward end of the trailing vehicle underframe, a pair of diverging horizontally extending draft devices connected at their forward end to the rear end of the forward vehicle and at their rear end to said transversely extending member, said devices diverging so that their extended axes intersect at the swivel mounting on the wheel truck, and a pair of vertically extending hanger devices having their lower ends connected to the draft devices and their upper ends connected to the forward vehicle, said hanger devices diverging so that their axes are in a vertical plane with the axes of said draft devices thereunder.

ROBERT WALSH. JACK D. KENNEDY.

REFERENCES crrnl) The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Schroeder et al. Apr. 10,1945 

